Conor Friedersdorf: Chefs slapped in the face with glove rule

California is an idyll, a sun-drenched land of redwood forests, fertile valleys and gorgeous beaches. Life here is good. For its pleasures, we subject ourselves to the occasional earthquake, seasonal wildfires and, most dreadful of all, the California Legislature. We are accustomed to the needless intrusions of the busybody paternalists who run it.

Don't they have anything better to do?

It's always 72 degrees out. Fish tacos are cheap and plentiful. If lawmakers would focus on keeping the roads paved, the children schooled, the needy cared for and the criminals locked up, they'd have quite enough to do, and the rest of us could enjoy our sun-kissed days unmolested.

But they're determined to intrude ever more deeply into our lives with laws that, at their worst, make no more sense than a mudslide. The latest example, effective this year: the glove rule.

Technically, it's a change to the part of the health code that deals with food safety procedures. Requiring food and drink preparers to wash their hands? Fine, I can live with that.

But take a look at the latest tweak. “Food employees shall not contact exposed, ready-to-eat food with their bare hands,” the law now states, “and shall use suitable utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs, single-use gloves or dispensing equipment.”

What that language tells Californians, many of whom can't get free plastic bags at the grocery store any more, is that Golden State restaurant workers will now be cycling through many thousands of disposable gloves every day. I can't say that gloves aren't reassuring when I see them covering the hands of a cafeteria worker or on the assembly line at Chipotle.

But chefs at finer dining establishments use bare hands when they prepare certain dishes because that's how such dishes turn out best. I've always trusted that they kept their hands washed.

But if chefs broke the hand-washing law, are they going to follow the law that says they must wear gloves? Are they going to change those gloves as often as required? Gloved hands can spread food poisoning as easily as bare ones if the gloves are dirty. Gloves don’t decontaminate spoiled food. Some in the restaurant industry worry that mandatory glove use will cause a false sense of security, less hand-washing and even more food-borne illness.

Many chefs say the law will ruin their experience of cooking.

The law's most absurd consequence: Many bartenders will have to wear gloves, too. Here's how complicated it will be to make a Manhattan under the new rules: The bartender must mix the drink, pour it from the shaker into the glass, and don gloves before adding a cherry garnish.

Then the gloves must come off, and hands must be washed, before serving the drink. If money is exchanged, another round of hand-washing is necessary. Did the state need to interfere in this transaction?

A petition at Change.org has signatures from more than 11,000 people who want lawmakers to exempt bartenders. In the meantime, restaurants and bars alike will bear an added glove expense. At dive bars, it may become much harder to get a lemon twist in your vodka tonic or a lime wedge in your beer. Life goes on, but for Californians in the hospitality industry, it will be a bit more cumbersome. Why? My favorite explanation appeared in LA Weekly. “Maybe these politicians are projecting,” explained Naomi Schimek, Beverage Director at The Spare Room on Hollywood Boulevard. “They think everyone else's hands are dirty, too.”

Register opinion columnist Conor Friedersdorf also is a staff writer for the Atlantic.

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